PEACE ON BOTH SIDES
Jenna Worsham
Today’s Scripture: “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44, ESV
Theme: When you pray for peace, pray for both sides. Because Jesus said pray for enemies, we can pray for everyone, from allies to enemies.
PRAY FOR PEACE
It’s almost a cliché, “world peace.” The quintessential pageant contestant’s answer. Yet, we battle for peace, even within ourselves. In a society full of anxiety, distraction, chaos, rushing, and noise, peace is the opposite. The opposites of the noun peace are noise, irritation, or conflict. There is a war inside every individual for peace. Sometimes noise, irritation or conflict wins.
At other times, Jesus wins. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14, ESV). The angels announced Jesus’ birth this way. When we pray for peace on earth, we pray for Jesus now. We pray for the way He works in us to bring peace among us and make all things new. What we don’t get now is a permanent fix. Peace in us, among us, and around us is partial and temporary.
“‘PEACE, PEACE’ WHEN THERE IS NO PEACE”
This desire for peace on earth isn’t new. Peace is desirable. It is a cause for celebration. It allows abundant crops and harvests. It allows stability, safety and community focus. During the days of the prophet Jeremiah, God’s people wanted peace, regardless of the cost of that peace. “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14, ESV). Bad things were happening and, instead of justice, the people wanted peace because it was in their financial best interest. Even God’s chosen people wanted to cover over their selfishness. Before I promptly condemn them, I have to consider my own bias and blindness.
PRAY FOR BOTH SIDES
When I have an impossible decision to make, sometimes I pray for both possible outcomes. Both possibilities have pros and cons, when the conflict is so nuanced, and I can’t trust my own (usually decisive) judgement. Then I pray that God would please help me to pray rightly. I debate with myself as I pray. When I’m humble enough to see that I’m not all-knowing like God, those conflicted prayers are answered with the peace that passes understanding.
Praying requires surrender. It requires me to admit that I don’t have all of the information and that I don’t know every individual or party involved. This is true in my personal conflicts and concerns. On a much greater scale it is true of wars and conflicts involving many people, other cultural contexts, and other locations in the world. Praying for my allies is easy. In the spiritual world, praying for my enemies also makes logical sense. It really does, because my own preferences, if indulged, couldn’t possibly bring about the best outcome. When I begin to pray for my enemies, I begin to love them also. As a result, I often don’t see them as adversaries anymore.
Make it Personal: Pray for both sides of a conflict in your own life. Pray for both sides of the current conflict in the Middle East.
Pray: God, help me pray for those I see as my enemies and those I consider my friends. God, You are in control. You have the information and understand the cultures, politics, and motivations of everyone involved. You love the innocent and the guilty in a way I can never hope to match. Give me Your pure heart for the hurting. Help me to want Peace -- in the person of Jesus -- for all people. Please end the killing; please end the suffering; please help us to know what our next move is – for Your perspective is perfect. We are small and insignificant, except when we bring the tiny offerings we have, and You do amazing things. I pray for the conflict in Israel, the Gaza strip, on every border, and in every heart. Jesus, come to the frontlines of the war and to the frontlines in my heart. Change my perspective, help me to rest, help me to love my enemies. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Read: Jeremiah 6:13-15; Luke 2:13-14; Matthew 5:43-48
Weekly Memory Verse: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” Ephesians 2:14-16, NIV